The first guy to see him, the first guy to grab Cody Vaz and bear hug the life out of him, was Sean Mannion.

This is more than an injured starting quarterback supporting his backup after a big road win. It’s two guys part of one team that’s sick to death of losing all of those games the last two years.

So they may as well win 'em all this year.

“We’re not looking back at what we were,” Mannion said. “We’re looking at right now and what we can be.”

This is why Oregon State, which hosts Utah on Saturday, is different this fall. Why we’ve watched this surreal metamorphosis from the dregs of the Pac-12 to the elite of college football with such fascination.

Just how bizarre has it been for the unbeaten and eighth-ranked Beavers? Coach Mike Riley has gone from a coach on the verge getting fired—to the leading candidate for national coach of the year.

With essentially the same team.

“This is a unique group of guys,” Riley says, “with a unique perspective.”

This time last year, Oregon State was halfway to its worst record in 14 years, a three-win season that had many wondering if Riley could make the Beavers relevant again—while bitter rival and national powerhouse Oregon was sucking the very life from the room.

Mannion struggled in his first season as a starter, throwing 16 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, and worse, not embracing a quarterback's natural role of leadership. That’s why, coming off minor knee surgery, he was standing outside the football field house last weekend when the buses rolled up from the trip to BYU.

Why he was the first guy to wrap his arms around Vaz—the same guy he beat out this spring and fall camp for the starting job. Vaz played so well, he was later named Pac-12 player of the week.

Many guys in Mannion’s situation—especially at that critical position—would be concerned that one big game from the backup could lead to more success and eventually, once the starter returns, a controversy over playing the hot hand or the original starter.

“Nothing like that at all,” Vaz said. “That’s not who we are on this team.”

Starting to see where this is headed? Starting to understand why a team with the same personnel and a couple of impact newcomers has gone from losing to FCS Sacramento State last fall and winning three Pac-12 games (two games against teams who fired their coach), to a team on top of the league’s North Division?

Riley kept this group together, convincing them this offseason that they can play with anyone in the Pac-12 if they play smart and eliminate mistakes and play for each other. Not with each other.

And any coach at any level will tell you there’s a monumental difference in playing “for” instead of “with” each other. Yeah, it’s corny and it’s clichéd, and it’s a whole lot of rah-rah. But look what it does:

— Mannion, a turnover magnet last fall, played brilliantly the first four games of this season.

— Wideouts Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks were solid last year, and both now average more than 100 yards per game and are as productive (and dynamic) as USC’s heralded tandem of Marqise Lee and Robert Woods.

— Jordan Poyer was a solid cornerback in 2011, earning second-team all-conference honors. He’s the best cover cornerback in the nation right now, with five interceptions in five games.

— Defensive end Scott Crichton had six sacks last season, and already has eight with at least seven games to play. He was one of the Pac-12’s top freshmen last fall, and his play this season has elevated others on a unit that was 89th in scoring defense last year.

The Beavers are 25th in the nation in scoring defense (18.4 ppg) this fall, fourth in rush defense (70 ypg), sixth in third down defense and 25th in sacks.

“Everyone starts to believe,” Wheaton said. ‘We’ve got guys that can play here; we always have. It’s about trust and effort. It’s a different year.”